The good news is that revenue has been strong this year, thereby reducing how much money Treasury must borrow to pay the expenses that Congress has already authorized the country to incur.

The debt limit is by now very familiar issue. Congress has elected to suspend or raise it no less than seven times since 2010, and almost always at the very last minute, often after a major battle.

It's not clear yet how lawmakers will play the debt ceiling game this time around. But play they will and eventually they'll have to decide whether to approve an outright increase to the legal borrowing limit or "suspend" the ceiling for some period yet again.